Death by Psycho-Graft?

[preserved_ginger]

Title: Death by Psycho-Graft?
Rating: PG-13
Setting: 2X01 (New Earth)
Character(s): Ten. Rose (as Cassandra).
Pairing(s): Ten/Rose
Spoilers: Brief reference to events in 1X02 (The End of the World), but otherwise nothing after 2X01.
A/N: This was inspired (sort of) by a conversation in AIM chat on Saturday where someone (karenor, I think) said that “Give her back to me” was one of the best lines of Season Two. Italicised dialogue is from the episode. Unbeta-ed; all errors therefore my own.
Summary: It can’t come to this. Not after all they’ve been through.

“Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out”.

He knew Rose was good at setting records for being jeopardy-friendly, but this is ridiculous. He might have guessed, though, that Cassandra hadn't died on Platform One, although quite how she'd survived baffled even him. Under other circumstances, he'd be first in the queue to ask a whole barrel of questions.

Musing about events that are past and gone isn’t helping him solve the problem he has, though; he has to come up with a plan, and quickly, of what to do if Cassandra refuses to leave Rose. He doesn’t know what that plan will be, yet – as usual, he’ll be making decisions on the fly – but he knows he’ll find something; it can’t come to this, not after all they’ve been through.

He can't (won't) lose her to a sodding psycho-graft of all things, if only because he wouldn’t be able to face Jackie. That’s not the only reason, of course. However much he pretends to himself that Jackie Tyler’s wrath is the only thing motivating him right now, he knows that his feelings for Rose (the feelings he’s spent the last few months trying, and failing, to ignore) have a lot to do with it too. Of course they do. He’s just refusing to admit it.

He can help Rose best by being calm, so right now letting his feelings rule him – and he can feel the panic washing through him – is probably the worst thing he can do. He doesn’t have enough time to start panicking; he needs to stay calm and focussed. It’s easier said than done, though, and as he raises the sonic screwdriver his mind screams at him to do something, anything, to fix this.

“Give her back to me.”